Matters needing attention in documentary shooting

In order to pursue "truth" in shooting, the picture composition, scenery and light are very rough, and the shots are staggered all the way. The following are the shooting precautions I collected for you. Knowing this, you can change it during the shooting!

First, the "one-time" ability of on-site recording.

Photographers judge and choose in the viewfinder by means of lens modeling, show the causal relationship and conflicts of scene events, record the details of wonderful moments, make the loaded events conveyed through images, reflect the spirit of the times, and shape typical characters in typical environments, which requires photographers to observe and judge on the spot in the scene where the events occur, rather than mechanically record the "scene". "Live" shooting should be moving without chaos, static without death.

Photographers should have a process of observing and getting familiar with the surrounding environment after entering the scene. Scenes are often complicated, and the environment is the "field" of documentaries. Man and the environment are inseparable. What to choose and how to choose the lens directly reflects the photographer's judgment and expression of event observation ability and aesthetic ability.

The recording of the lens is not to wait for the tape to be finished after starting the machine, but to have a definite purpose. Don't give the scene to the most interesting things, instead of a fixed record of the whole scene. The audience can't stand the long lens that is so quiet and stunned. In a relatively long period of time, the amount of information inside the lens is limited, which is directly related to the audience's viewing psychology. If the information is lacking and incoherent, the audience's interest in watching will decline, thus affecting the meaning transmission and aesthetic perception of the documentary itself. Blindly pursuing the truth of "long shots" is an inevitable trend for documentaries to become monotonous. Simply piling up life scenes, without selection and refinement, can easily lead to a "naturalistic" situation. Photographers should have an objective and rational understanding of "long shots". If the "long shot" is not enough to reflect some meaning and information, then it is better to say short than lack.

Second, the scene interference of the camera

The "real movie" in the 1960s used the camera as a "catalyst", which promoted something to happen, even guided the development direction of things, and excavated the truth hidden in the environment created by human beings. The creator of "direct cinema" entered a tense situation with a camera, waiting for the crisis hopefully, and looking for the truth in the events filmed by the camera. Whether it is "direct cinema" or "real movies", the pursuit of "truth" is their common ideal, but the facts often make people infinitely disappointed. In the filming of documentary scenes, the existence of cameras and staff has irresistible interference to the scene. The photographer may change the way of speech and behavior because of the intervention of the camera, and even break the normal relationship between the characters. Many documentary creators will encounter this headache. Photographers are often disappointed by an unnatural little gesture they see in the viewfinder of the lens, and the lens invisibly resists the real process. In fact, it is impossible for us to restore the absolute truth, because the truth only exists in the creator's honesty and conscience to a great extent in the production of documentaries. Every creator can define the truth in his own cultural background according to his own beliefs, feelings and experiences. More accurately, the truth of documentary is only the truth understood by the creator. Any creation is subjective. Who can say that the history in textbooks is absolutely true? On-the-spot shooting, whether people with high education or low education, will show some out-of-line behavior in front of the camera, but the size of this behavior change is different. Although people think that mutual communication can eliminate each other's unnaturalness, it is only the creator's self-deception to let the other side treat photographers and cameras as air. When Jean Husch took out his microphone while filming real movie and Summer Chronicle, "he found that the camera has a power to make people do behaviors different from their daily lives".

Third, the limitations of "candid camera" technology.

Stealing pictures means that the cameraman takes pictures of people without the other person's knowledge, hoping that the normal life of others will not be affected when shooting. The technology of "candid camera" has a long history in documentaries. "Direct Cinema" advocates the shooting method of not disturbing the object and has always been a successful pioneer of "sneak shot". Now China's documentary creators also enjoy it. Stealing photos really adds a lot to the documentary. The TV documentary "Dragon Ridge" contains many wonderful snapshots, warm and moving scenes of students and teachers in the classroom, the daily life of villagers at the head and tail of the village, and so on. However, in the reality under the candid camera lens, the defamiliarization effect often appears. People hope to see the real events and processes around them through the screen, so as to get a kind of aesthetic comfort and pleasure through the screen, but what they get from the photographer is only the superficial appearance, not the truth. As Widoff, a Soviet documentary master, said, "A photographer should not be an impartial observer in reality, but should actively bury himself in the door of life. Once he enters, he may understand that' everything has a reason', which has become the main point of view in his movies. " Sometimes it is difficult to sneak shots of specific events, often in a passive position. Moreover, the subject matter and content that can be photographed are limited, and the possibility of technical operation and legal legitimacy limit the content of candid photos. For example, you can't sneak shots of other people's intimate scenes just because you want to show love.

Fourth, documentaries should also reflect beauty.

Documentary films are emphasized from beginning to end. If this string is stretched too tightly, there will often be another contradiction, whether the image has visual beauty. For example, shooting a farmhouse kitchen, the daytime light is very low, and the camera can't shoot a normal fine picture at all, but this dark environment is an important living space for the protagonist. It is impossible to record such a scene without disturbing the object, and the so-called "original ecology" is meaningless because it is impossible to see the image. At this time, you must turn on the light. Attention should be paid to how to hide several lights at the scene, whether the lights can make the photographed object get used to it, whether the lighting effect on the picture can be simulated, and whether the lighting structure is reasonable. Photographers are actively, not passively, controlled by the environment at the documentary shooting scene, because the photographer's job must convey an image that conforms to the law of visual aesthetic communication. Juris Evans said in "The Camera and Me": "The reappearance of the scene has introduced a very subjective personal factor into the filming of the documentary. The director's integrity-his understanding and attitude towards truth, his will to convey the basic truth of the theme-his understanding of the audience's sense of responsibility ... does not include these' subjective' factors, and the definition of documentary is incomplete. " Any means is a tool of language, and the recognition of the audience should be fully considered when using this language. "Truth is not equal to the natural state, and truth is not equal to roughness".

In tracking shooting, the usual method is to use a wide-angle lens. When the focal length is 9mm, the viewing angle is about 98, and the scene is wide and the picture is relatively stable. It is not easy to shake when moving, with large depth of field and large amount of information in the picture. But at the same time, in the process of motion tracking shooting, the surrounding messy scenery also enters the picture, which is easy to deform if it is too close to the photographer. Moreover, this kind of "wide-angle picture" has been flooded in TV documentaries, followed by mediocrity and the loss of artistic aesthetic value. If you shoot with a lens with a focal length of 16mm, the field of vision is relatively small, close to the field of vision of human eyes, the information in the picture is relatively concentrated, and the focus of the documentary is more prominent. However, due to the use of medium focus shooting, it is more difficult in technical operation. Including on-the-spot judgment, foresight of things, careful choice of shooting time and subject, accurate grasp of focus and clever use of equipment to obtain stable and aesthetic images. A good cameraman uses silent records to show the plot. The deeper he hides, the more he can show the documentary means.

At the scene, accurately controlling the movement of scenes and shots can not only make the recording focused and rhythmic, but also directly affect the viewing mood of the documentary. To make a perfect image in a "one-off" event, you need to have a judgment and foresight on the development of things and be familiar with the surrounding environment. It is the minimum duty of every cameraman to make the picture beautiful and have a strong visual impact, which is not contradictory to the real record. In the creation of documentaries, the cameraman should be a relatively independent individual, and he should have independent judgment and have the right to carry this judgment to the end.

With the progress of electronic technology and the renewal of documentary concept, the future documentary will present a newer style, and the documentary produced at that time will surely bring a revolution in aesthetic style and production methods.

Expanding Reading —— A Standard Guide for Video Material Shooting

First, do a good job of early communication.

Communicate with the brand department in the early stage before shooting to determine the shooting theme, shooting characters and scenes. Example: The case needs to take photos such as panoramic location, product close-up, temperature measurement demonstration, etc.

Second, use horizontal screen shooting.

Vertical screen video is suitable for video with people as the main body, and its field of vision is relatively limited; Horizontal video is suitable for video with scenes as the main body, and it has advantages in showing the scene application of products and solutions, so video materials are usually shot in horizontal screen.

Third, make sure the picture is clear.

Select the resolution above 1080p in the camera settings in the early shooting, and then send the video to the interface person with nails to avoid serious loss of image quality caused by WeChat sending.

Fourth, keep the lens stable.

High-frequency shaking of the lens will cause visual discomfort. When shooting, you should hold the camera with both hands, fixed the picture or move smoothly to keep the picture stable.

5. Choose an appropriate distance/angle.

Place the subject in the center of the picture and choose an appropriate shooting distance to avoid the situation that the subject is too big, too small or too biased.

Sixth, simplify the shooting background.

In order to highlight the subject, choose a clean background when shooting to avoid other interference elements from entering the mirror. For example, when there are many people in the background, you should choose an angle with few people in the lens and shoot when the traffic is low; When there are many sundries in the background, clean them up before shooting.

Finish what you started.

The video content should be recorded from beginning to end, and the complete action should be recorded for 5 seconds before and after shooting, which is convenient for post-processing.

Precautions for shooting

First, the shooting should be flat, accurate, stable and even.

Head-up refers to keeping the camera level all the time during the movement. If the picture is not kept horizontal, the fixed horizontal and vertical objects in the picture, such as houses, telephone poles and people, will be crooked, which will not only give people uncomfortable visual effects, but also cause psychological instability and anxiety. Adjust the level when shooting with a tripod, and adjust the level state in the viewfinder at any time when shooting with hands or shoulders.

Quasi refers to the accurate framing and composition of the focus of the left picture in the process of sports photography, and pays attention to follow focus's skills when shooting. When shaking the picture, you should stand in a good position according to the left picture, and then shake it from the beginning, which can not only ensure the even shaking speed, but also give consideration to the accuracy of composition when shooting.

In the process of grasping the fingers of sports photography, the picture should be kept stable and not shaken, otherwise it will give people a feeling of dizziness, which will cause psychological anxiety. When shooting in hand, try to hold your breath in one lens or let your body find a relying point and support point. Try to shoot with a short focal length camera lens to reduce camera jitter.

In the process of pointing to sports photography evenly, the camera should move at a uniform speed, neither fast nor slow. When shooting with a tripod, it is necessary to adjust the damping of the tripod, master the shooting essentials when shooting by hand, and start and stop the action by increasing or decreasing the force.

Second, the shooting method of hand-held camera

The biggest difficulty in shooting a moving lens with a hand-held camera is to keep the picture stable. The main factor causing the picture instability is the shaking of the fuselage. In order to reduce the body shaking when shooting, try to put your feet in a straight line when walking. The best way to avoid shaking up and down is to take smaller steps and bend your legs a little, because all joints of the human body are good shock absorbers. When shooting with a hand-held camera, you should follow the shooting essentials of "walking straight, bending your legs, taking small steps and relaxing your waist". As long as you practice more and master the shooting skills, you can also take a satisfactory picture with a camera. In addition, you should try to choose a camera lens with short focal length when shooting.

Third, pay attention to focus, don't shoot virtual, use auto focus first, and then practice using manual focus point.

Fourth, don't shoot against the light yet, shoot with the light, the light and the side light, that is, shoot against the window.

Fifth, start shooting, try to move as little as possible, especially to avoid pushing and pulling the bellows.

Six, shoot a group, the scene should be changed, the time of a shot should not be too long, just like shooting a TV series, shooting one by one can not be endless, swinging, pushing and pulling, not moving, but having a purpose.

Matters needing attention in documentary production

1, try to keep the real environment of the actual sound.

Real sound refers to the sound recorded when shooting a picture, which can make up for the deficiency of the picture, enhance the vividness of the film and enhance the realism of the film.

This kind of actual sound can enhance the realism, credibility and affinity of the film, making the audience feel as if they were in the scene at that time. Some common voices in daily life will also make the audience feel more cordial and bring the film closer to the audience.

2. If the historical image does not conform to the frame scale, it needs to be adjusted.

Some materials in the documentary are from shooting, and there may be some historical themes, so we need to find historical images as materials, edit them and put them into the film.

Sometimes we will encounter some problems, for example, the frame ratio of the old video material is usually 4:3, but now we use the ratio of 16:9 more, and then the picture will have black edges, just like this shot.

3. Choose a shot that can directly express the narrative and omit some logical processes.

Documentaries usually have narrators, just like the beginning of a series of lives we just watched.

When choosing a picture, it is necessary to fit the character narrative as much as possible and omit some logical processes. This logical process is not well understood, but many editors make this mistake when editing. Let me give you an example.

There was a narration in the film just now: "From a little wine on the kang to a big meal in the hotel".

According to the idea of editing promotional films or other types of films, we usually consider the logic problem, that is, whether the logic of the previous shot and the next shot is smooth in content, time and space.